BernardoWebb158 at 18:37, 13 March 2026

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{{Short description|Indian barrister, activist (1910–1983)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bhicoo Batlivala
| image = Bhicoo Batlivala by Douglas in The Bystander, 16 February 1938.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Batlivala in 1938
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = {{birth date|1910|10|13|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bombay]], British India
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1983|10|10|1910|10|13}}
| death_place = [[Burgess Hill]], West Sussex, England
| nationality = 
| other_names = {{flatlist|
* Bee Mansell
* Mrs. Guy Mansell
}}
| alma_mater = [[Cheltenham Ladies College]]
| occupation = [[Barrister]]
| years_active =
| known_for = {{Indented plainlist|
* Called to the [[Bar (law)|Bar]] aged 21 (1932)
* First female appointed to [[Baroda]] State service (1935)
* Campaigner for [[India's independence]]
* Campaigning for the release of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] from prison (1940s)
* Founding [[Cobham Hall School]] (1962)
}}
| notable_works =
| spouse = {{Marriage|Guy Robinson Mansell|1939}}
| children = 2
}}

'''Bhicoo Batlivala''' (13 October 1910 – 10 October 1983), also known as '''Mrs. Guy Mansell''' or '''Bee Mansell''', was an Indian-born British barrister and campaigner for [[India's independence]].

Batlivala first appeared in the 1930s as a popular socialite and photographs of her appeared in several magazines including ''[[Tatler]]'' and ''[[The Sketch]]''. In 1935, after she had practised as a barrister at the [[Inner Temple]], the [[Sayajirao Gaekwad III|Maharaja of Baroda]] in Gujarat appointed her as the first female to work for its State service, in which she became an advocate for the education of women. For a short while, she was personal secretary to [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] during his European tour of 1938. She would later campaign for the release from prison of both Nehru and [[Mahatma Gandhi]], and at one time led a delegation of Indian women into the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] to speak to women MPs there. Her earlier tour of the United States, to talk about India, gave British government intelligence significant concern.

In 1962, after settling in Cobham with her family, she founded [[Cobham Hall School]].

==Early life and education==
Bhicoo Batlivala was born in [[Bombay]] (now Mumbai), to [[Sorabji Batlivala]], a successful [[Parsi]] wool mill owner who later managed [[Tata Textiles|Empress Mills]] in Nagpur.<ref name=Open>{{cite web |title=Bhicoo Batlivala {{!}} Making Britain |url=https://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/bhicoo-batlivala |website=www.open.ac.uk |access-date=25 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902160716/https://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/bhicoo-batlivala|archive-date=2 September 2022}}</ref> Her date of birth is recorded as 13 October 1910 in the [[National Registration Act 1939|1939 England and Wales Register]].<ref name=EW1939>{{cite web |title=Wokingham 1946|url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/1200709:61596?tid=&pid=&queryId=e1e64f9c4c0aa8231353be74ea07c8bb&_phsrc=ouC1&_phstart=successSource|access-date=2 September 2022 |work=1939 England and Wales Register|date=1946|via=ancestry.co.uk|url-access=subscription}}</ref> She had a sister, Siloo, and a brother, Homi.<ref name=Open/> [[Nowroji Saklatwala]] was her uncle.<ref name=DET1938/> Her friends affectionately referred to her as "Bee".<ref name=DET1938>{{cite news |title=Parsee woman barrister's romance|work= Dundee Evening Telegraph|date=28 January 1938|page=6|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000563/19380128/064/0006|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> As a child, she was sent to study in England.<ref name=Open/> There she attended [[Cheltenham Ladies College]] in Gloucestershire, when [[Lilian Faithfull]] was head. She later studied law.<ref name=Bush>{{cite book |last1=Bush |first1=Clive |title=The Century's Midnight: Dissenting European and American Writers in the Era of the Second World War |date=2010 |publisher=Peter Lang |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-906165-25-3 |page=249 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2phMoRaJemYC&pg=PA249 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=Hancock>{{Cite book |last=Hancock |first=Brenda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xIxADQAAQBAJ&dq=%22Bee+Batlivala%22&pg=PT74 |title=Ever-Widening Circles or Road to Baba |date=2016 |publisher=Page Publishing |location=New York |isbn=978-1-68348-476-9 |pages=74–75 |language=en}}</ref> She passed her exams in [[constitutional law]] and history in 1930 with a first class mark.<ref name=Vote193>{{cite news |title=Bar examinations: women's successes |work= Vote|date=17 January 1930|page=22|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002186/19300117/024/0006|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 1932, at the age of 21, she was [[Call to the bar|called to the Bar]].<ref name=DET1938/>

==Career==
Batlivala worked for a few years as a barrister at the [[Inner Temple]] before the [[Sayajirao Gaekwad III|Maharaja of Baroda]] in Gujarat, India, appointed her as the first female to work for his State service in 1935.<ref name=DET1938/><ref name=InnerTemple>{{cite web |title=South Asian Heritage Month |url=https://publications.innertemple.org.uk/yearbook/articles/2024-2025/south-asian-heritage-month/ |website=Inner Temple Yearbook |access-date=3 January 2026}}</ref><ref name=BBDG1935>{{cite news |title=Women's work for women in India |work= Birmingham Daily Gazette |date=2 December 1935|page=6|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000669/19351202/286/0010|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref> There, she assisted the education minister in matters relating to the education of women.<ref name=DET1938/><ref name=BBDG1935/>

In 1938, after her engagement to Guy Robinson Mansell in England,<ref name=Byst1938>{{cite news |title=Getting married |work= The Bystander|date=16 February 1938|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001851/19380216/051/0053|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref> she made another trip to India, this time to study the [[Indian National Congress|Congress movement]], in preparation for a future lecture tour of the United States.<ref name=DET1938/> After spending time at [[Anand Bhavan]], she returned to England via Europe, accompanying [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] as his personal secretary.<ref name=Open/><ref name=Wolpert1996>{{cite book |last1=Wolpert |first1=Stanley A. |title=Nehru: A Tryst with Destiny |date=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-510073-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cg9uAAAAMAAJ&q=nehru+europe |language=en}}</ref> She would later campaign for his release from prison during the [[Second World War]].<ref name=Open/> In 1938–39, she delivered the Crichton Club lecture entitled "Influence of the West on Ancient Indian Culture".<ref name=Crighton>{{cite web |title=Previous Speakers |url=https://www.crichtonclub.org/previous-speakers.html |website=Crichton Club |access-date=29 August 2022 |language=en |archive-date=30 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830063742/https://www.crichtonclub.org/previous-speakers.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===United States tour 1939–40===
British government intelligence became concerned after noting that she regularly attended meetings of the [[India League]] and had planned a US tour.<ref name=O’Brien2021>{{cite web |last1=O’Brien |first1=John |title=Bhicoo Batlivala: The forgotten freedom fighter whose US tour made the British government anxious |url=https://scroll.in/article/995120/bhicoo-batlivala-the-forgotten-freedom-fighter-whose-us-tour-made-the-british-government-anxious |website=Scroll.in |access-date=26 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826153011/https://scroll.in/article/995120/bhicoo-batlivala-the-forgotten-freedom-fighter-whose-us-tour-made-the-british-government-anxious |archive-date=26 August 2022 |date=25 September 2021}}</ref> She departed Southampton for New York on 19 December 1939 on the [[Holland America Line|Holland America Line's]] [[SS Volendam|SS ''Volendam'']].<ref name=Pass1939>{{cite web |title=Outward passenger list from Southampton|url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/146455497:2997?tid=&pid=&queryId=6c2870787f2be5ff828f6789a28aa8f1&_phsrc=ouC11&_phstart=successSource|access-date=2 September 2022 |work=UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960|date=1939|via=ancestry.co.uk|url-access=subscription}}</ref> While in the US, her views on British rule were criticised by the prominent opponent of Indian independence [[Katherine Mayo]].<ref name=Liv1940>{{cite web |title=RP XXV.1.273 (1-5) - Letters to Elena Richmond from Ruth Draper, America |url=https://sca-archives.liverpool.ac.uk/Record/86417/Description#tabnav |website=sca-archives.liverpool.ac.uk}}</ref> In 1940, Batlivala completed the six-month lecture tour.<ref name=O’Brien2021/> Other Indian women seeking to gain American support around that time included [[Sarojini Naidu]], [[Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit]],<ref>{{cite book |title=The United States And India (1776-1976) |date=2017 |publisher=Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting |isbn=978-81-230-2577-3 |page=150 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_q88DwAAQBAJ&dq=Bhicoo+Batlivala&pg=PT150 |language=en}}</ref> and [[Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay]], who was lecturing on India at the same time.<ref name=DuBois2017>{{cite book |last1=DuBois |first1=Ellen Carol |last2=Lal |first2=Vinay |title=A Passionate Life: Writings by and on Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay |date=2017 |location=New Delhi |publisher=Zubaan |isbn=978-93-85932-35-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gi0zDwAAQBAJ&dq=bhicoo&pg=PT329 |language=en}}</ref> One of the schools she visited was Waterville High School, [[Waterville, Maine|Waterville]], Maine.<ref name=TCE1941>{{cite news |title=Bhicoo Batlivala tells of East Indian customs |url=https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2440&context=colbyecho |work=The Colby Echo |date=7 February 1940 |location=Waterville, Maine}}</ref> It was reported in one newspaper that "no other speaker who has appeared at the Washington Athletic Club has carried the enchantment, the fascination, the brilliance and stimulation that 28-year-old Bhicco Batlivala does".<ref name=Open/>

===Release Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi campaigns===
Professor of American literature [[Clive Bush]] noted that Batlivala was writing about wartime India's [[civil and political rights]] as early as 1941.<ref name=Bush2010>{{cite book |last1=Bush |first1=Clive |title=The Century's Midnight: Dissenting European and American Writers in the Era of the Second World War |date=2010 |publisher=Peter Lang |isbn=978-1-906165-25-3 |page=249 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2phMoRaJemYC&dq=bhicoo&pg=PA249 |language=en}}</ref> In an article for [[International Woman Suffrage Alliance|International Woman Suffrage News]] in 1941, she questioned Britain's use of India's resources to fight Nazi threat, while simultaneously denying freedom for India.<ref name=O’Brien2021/> She concluded: "The Indian people have repeatedly declared that they have no quarrel with the British people, but they will no longer tolerate a system of Imperialism. If the British government declares that its fight is for the liberation of all nations then it must liberate India. The world is watching."<ref name=Bush2010/><ref name=WWWI1941>{{cite news |title=Article|work= The International Women's News|date=3 January 1941|page=51|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002220/19410103/031/0011|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref> According to intelligence reports on India League's [[V. K. Krishna Menon]], when he was unable to attend the 1941 annual dinner of the Manchester Indian Association, he sent Batlivala in his place as he felt she would be better able to offend the Lord Mayor of Manchester when responding to his speech.<ref name=Gupta2010>{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Amit Kumar |url=http://archive.org/details/towardsfreedomdo01amit |title=Towards Freedom, 1941, Part 1 |date=2010 |others=Public Resource |isbn=978-0-19-806537-1 |pages=563–572}}</ref> It was noted in November 1941, that the India League had very few Indian members, of which Batlivala had considerable influence on its policies.<ref name=Gupta2010/> For the "Release Nehru" campaign (1941), Batlivala gave evidence to [[H. G. Wells]] about the circumstances of Nehru's imprisonment in India.<ref name=Visram2002.10>{{cite book |last1=Visram |first1=Rozina |title=Asians in Britain |url=https://archive.org/details/asiansinbritain40068visr|date=2002 |publisher=[[Pluto Press]] |location=London |isbn=0745313787 |page=324 |chapter=10. Radical voices}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=H. G. Wells {{!}} Making Britain |url=https://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/h-g-wells |website=www.open.ac.uk |access-date=28 August 2022}}</ref> In response, Wells protested to [[Leo Amery]].<ref name=Visram2002.10/>

On 24 February 1943, the press reported that day that Batlivala headed a group of Indian women and led them to the Central Lobby of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] to request the release of Mahatma Gandhi from prison.<ref name=DDT1943>{{cite news |title=Gandhi is cheerful|work= Derby Daily Telegraph|date=24 February 1943|page=51|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1943-02-24/1943-02-24?basicsearch=batlivala%20house%20of%20commons%20gandhi&somesearch=batlivala%20house%20of%20commons%20gandhi&exactsearch=false&retrievecountrycounts=false|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> There they met women MPs [[Eleanor Rathbone]], [[Thelma Cazalet-Keir|Cazalet-Keir]], [[Reginald Sorensen, Baron Sorensen|Reginald Sorensen]] and [[Mavis Tate]].<ref name=DDT1943/> The ''[[Derby Telegraph|Derby Daily Telegraph]]'' described the Indian women in "beautiful native robes", and reported that Batlivala said "We are urging that the release of Gandhi should be put before the government as a very urgent matter. It is not a question only of Hindus or of one particular community. Indians of all communities here are very deeply concerned about the present drift of the situation as it is being handled by the Government."<ref name=DDT1943/> Other newspapers that reported the delegation that day included the ''[[Dundee Evening Telegraph]]'', the ''[[Birmingham Mail]]'', the ''[[Staffordshire Sentinel]]'', the ''[[Liverpool Echo]]'', ''[[Nottingham Evening Post]]'', among others.<ref name=News24Feb1943>{{cite news |title=24 February Newspapers|work= British Newspaper Archive|date=24 February 1943|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1943-02-24/1943-02-24?basicsearch=batlivala%20house%20of%20commons%20gandhi&somesearch=batlivala%20house%20of%20commons%20gandhi&exactsearch=false&retrievecountrycounts=false|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Socialite==
Batlivala first appeared in the 1930s as a popular socialite.<ref name=Tatler1936>{{cite news |title=A reception at Overseas House|work= [[Tatler]]|date=15 July 1936 |page=126|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001852/19360715/032/0036|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The ''[[The News Letter|Belfast Newsletter]]'', dated 27 May 1932, described her as "dainty and slender, a peculiarly attractive feature being her pretty red-brown hair, which is bobbed and dressed in soft curls in her neck".<ref name=Bel1932>{{cite news |title=Mayfair gossip: a charming Parsee |work= Belfast Newsletter |date=27 May 1932|page=6|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000038/19320527/137/0007|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref> It reported that she participated in tennis and polo tournaments (in 1933, she was photographed on a horse during a polo match at Wilmer House, [[Ham Common, London|Ham Common]], London);<ref name=Tat1935>{{cite news |title=Ladies polo at Wilmer House, Ham Common |work= Tatler |date=8 July 1935|issue=1828|page=70|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001852/19360708/024/0026|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref> it was even reported she had swapped horse riding for flying as she was frequently seen at [[Heston Aerodrome]] in west London.<ref name=DET1938/><ref name=Bel1932/>{{efn|Other Indian aviators around at the time included [[Man Mohan Singh (pilot)|Man Mohan Singh]], [[Aspy Engineer]], and her relation [[J. R. D. Tata]].<ref name=Chowdhry2018>{{cite book |last1=Chowdhry |first1=Mohindra S. |title=Defence of Europe by Sikh Soldiers in the World Wars |date=2018 |publisher=Troubador Publishing Ltd |location=Leicestershire |isbn=978-1788037-983 |pages=368–369 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TGpUDwAAQBAJ |language=en |chapter=7. Sikhs in the Second World War}}</ref>}} She appeared several times in ''[[The Sketch]]'' including; dressed as [[Pola Negri]] from [[Madame DuBarry (1919 film)|''Passion'']] in 1933,<ref name=Sketch1933>{{cite news |title=Do you think they are like your favourite film stars?|work= The Sketch|date=17 May 1933|page=283|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001860/19330517/013/0013|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> at the Derby Ball in the summer of 1934,<ref name=Sketch1934>{{cite news |title=Prince George among the dancers at the Derby Ball|work= The Sketch|date=13 June 1934|pages=272–273|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001860/19340613/010/0010|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and attending a polo match with the [[Dürrüşehvar Sultan|Princess of Berar]] in the summer of 1937.<ref name=Sketch1937>{{cite news |title=Notable polo players and spectators|work= The Sketch|date=23 June 1937|page=611|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001860/19370623/023/0017|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The ''[[Civil and Military Gazette]]'' featured her with the Princess of Nepal, when they helped sell tickets to ''[[Sāvitri (opera)|Sāvitri]]'', performed at the [[Playhouse Theatre]] for the purpose of raising funds<ref name=C&M1935>{{cite news |title=Savitri |work= Civil & Military Gazette |location=Lahore |date=23 April 1935|page=3|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003221/19350423/042/0003|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref> for the [[International Alliance of Women|Twelfth Congress for the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship]] in Istanbul that was held in April 1935.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/32829373| title=Women's Congress in Turkey|newspaper=[[The West Australian]]|date=12 February 1935}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Report of the twelfth Congress, Istanbul, April 18th-24th 1935. International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship.|publisher=The Alliance, London, England|year=1935|oclc=825553863 }}</ref> Later in the summer of 1935 she appeared in ''[[Tatler]]'' photographed with Major General Nawab Khusru Jung, and was described as "a charming visitor from Bombay".<ref name=Tatler1935>{{cite news |title=Polo Notes|work= Tatler|date=10 July 1935 |page=70|issue=1774|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001852/19350710/032/0036|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 1964, she would be mentioned in the ''[[New York Times]]'' when despite rain and muddy grounds at [[Ascot Racecourse|Ascot]], "she swept through the storm in a gold-and-white sari, her hemline dragging through the mud".<ref name=NYT1964>{{cite news |title=Ascot's Elite, Rained Out, Finds Solace at Parties; Queen Makes Visit Despite Downpour—Races Put Off |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/06/19/archives/ascots-elite-rained-out-finds-solace-at-parties-queen-makes-visit.html |access-date=26 August 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=19 June 1964 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826152414/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/06/19/archives/ascots-elite-rained-out-finds-solace-at-parties-queen-makes-visit.html |archive-date=26 August 2022}}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px" style="text-align:centre">
File:Bee Batlivala 1933.png |Batlivala dressed as actress [[Pola Negri]] (1933)
File:Bhicoo (Bee) Batlivala (1935).png|Batlivala at a polo match at Wilmer House, [[Ham Common, London]] (1935)<ref name=Tat1935/>
File:Bee Batlivala 1935.png |Batlivala with [[1936 Birthday Honours#Companion_(CIE)|Nawab Khusru Jung]], Major General in the [[Jammu & Kashmir Rifles|Kashmir State Force]]. (1935)
File:Bee Batlivala with Sir Basil Brooke 1936.png |Batlivala with [[Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough|Sir Basil Brooke]] (1936)
File:Bee Batlivala 1937.png |Batlivala ({{small|right}}) with [[Dürrüşehvar Sultan]], Princess of Berar ({{small|middle}})
</gallery>

==Later life==
In 1946, she was registered as residing at Chestnut Lodge, Old Common Cobham, [[Cobham, Kent|Cobham]], Kent.<ref name=E&W1946>{{cite web |title=Epsom 1946|url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/4829/images/40814_1831101883_1387-00283?treeid=&personid=&rc=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=rrG5&_phstart=successSource&pId=83973282|access-date=2 September 2022 |work=Surrey, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1962|date=1946|via=ancestry.co.uk|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{efn|It became a Grade II listed building in 1969.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chestnut Lodge, Cobham, Surrey |url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101030122-chestnut-lodge-elmbridge-cobham-and-downside-ward |access-date=2 September 2022 |website=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk}}</ref>}} In 1962, she founded [[Cobham Hall School]].<ref name=Hancock/><ref name=DH1962>{{cite news |last=Carrum|first=Antony|title=A school with no jolly hockey sticks |work= Daily Herald |date=8 February 1962|page=3|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000681/19620208/032/0003|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref> According to the founding headmistress, [[Brenda Hancock]], Batlivala had been so deeply offended by a refusal from the then head of Cheltenham Ladies College to meet Batlivala's seven-year-old daughter that, upon a suggestion, she decided to start her own school and persuaded Pandit to be its patron.<ref name=Hancock/> Other supporters were [[John Rothenstein|Sir John Rothenstein]] and [[Malcolm Sargent|Sir Malcolm Sargent]].<ref name=BDP1962>{{cite news |title=New girls school |work= Birmingham Daily Post |date=8 February 1962|page=8|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002134/19620208/542/0020|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Personal and family==
She married Guy Robinson Mansell of [[Upton, Buckinghamshire|Upton]], Buckinghamshire,<ref name=DET1938/> in 1939.<ref name=O’Brien2021/>{{efn|The England and Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916–2005, records their marriage in Westminster in 1939, but spells her name 'Blicoo'.<ref name=E&W1939>{{cite news |title=Marriages|url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/8753/images/ons_m19393ao-0128?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=45861728 |access-date=28 August 2022 |work=England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916–2005 |date=1939|via=ancestry.co.uk|url-access=subscription}}</ref>}} They settled in Cobham, Surrey, and had a son, Guy, and a daughter, Edwina.<ref name=Sketch1955>{{cite news |title=Polo at Cowdray |work= The Sketch |date=10 August 1955 |page=105 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001860/19550810/011/0011 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Death==
Batlivala died on 10 October 1983 in a nursing home at [[Burgess Hill]], West Sussex.<ref name=E&W1984>{{cite news |title=Deaths 1939 |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/24971243:1904 |access-date=28 August 2022 |work=England & Wales, National Probate Calendar: Index of Wills and Administrations (1858-1995)|date=1984|page=6039|via=ancestry.co.uk|url-access=subscription}}</ref> A memorial plaque was put up at Cobham Hall School following her death.<ref name=Cobham>{{cite web |title=Cobham Hall School Gravesend Cobham |url=http://www.educationbase.co.uk/Cobham-Hall-School-Gravesend,CC1785 |publisher=www.educationbase.co.uk |access-date=29 August 2022}}</ref>

== Explanatory footnotes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite web |title=Batlivala, Bhicoo. 'Civil Liberties in India' |url=https://collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/17215573 |publisher=Yale University Library |language=en}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batlivala, Bhicoo}}
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian women aviators]]
[[Category:Indian barristers]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Bombay Presidency]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women educational theorists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educational theorists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women lawyers]]
[[Category:Parsi people from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to England]]
[[Category:Women Indian independence activists]]
[[Category:English barristers]]
[[Category:English people of Parsi descent]]
[[Category:People educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College]]
[[Category:Founders of English schools and colleges]]
[[Category:Women founders]]

Bhicoo Batlivala - Revision history

BernardoWebb158 at 18:37, 13 March 2026